ᐅ Experiences with photovoltaic systems on a house with five residential units?
Created on: 8 Dec 2019 12:42
P
Pianist
Good day!
I am currently considering whether it might be more economical not to build another single-family house for my family on the remaining land, but instead to construct a building with five rentable units, each about 50 square meters (540 square feet). There is a high demand for smaller apartments in Berlin right now. The reason behind this is that the existing house is actually ideal for us, but it won’t generate adequate rent because it is tailored specifically to my professional needs (a recording studio in the basement).
I have a fundamental question: If I build something for myself, I would aim to make it as energy self-sufficient as possible. So, I would install a lot of photovoltaic panels on the roof to cover my own electricity consumption as much as possible, and some solar thermal panels to produce hot water in the summer. But if I build a property to rent out to five different tenants, is renewable energy still relevant? The tenants would probably be able to choose their own electricity suppliers, right? Does it even make sense to provide self-generated electricity? Or can I require tenants to take the electricity I produce?
As for heating, I would most likely just install a gas condensing boiler in the attic...
Matthias
I am currently considering whether it might be more economical not to build another single-family house for my family on the remaining land, but instead to construct a building with five rentable units, each about 50 square meters (540 square feet). There is a high demand for smaller apartments in Berlin right now. The reason behind this is that the existing house is actually ideal for us, but it won’t generate adequate rent because it is tailored specifically to my professional needs (a recording studio in the basement).
I have a fundamental question: If I build something for myself, I would aim to make it as energy self-sufficient as possible. So, I would install a lot of photovoltaic panels on the roof to cover my own electricity consumption as much as possible, and some solar thermal panels to produce hot water in the summer. But if I build a property to rent out to five different tenants, is renewable energy still relevant? The tenants would probably be able to choose their own electricity suppliers, right? Does it even make sense to provide self-generated electricity? Or can I require tenants to take the electricity I produce?
As for heating, I would most likely just install a gas condensing boiler in the attic...
Matthias
N
nordanney10 Dec 2019 10:45Pianist schrieb:
He had a lot of trouble despite careful tenant selection. And in general, he considers rental laws to be too one-sided in favor of tenants. Which is not entirely unreasonable... So just because "someone" had problems and thinks renting is troublesome, does that apply to all of Germany? What nonsense. He should invest in stocks from Azerbaijan instead; there are good returns and solid tangible assets behind them!
I’d rather stay a landlord. I’ve had no issues for 20 years and currently achieve after-tax returns of almost 10% on the equity I’ve invested.
Seriously? How are you going to do that?
Let’s run the numbers again: If the authorities allow me, and I actually can build four small residential units, maybe a fifth apartment in the attic, then this house will probably cost me around 500,000 EUR today (with site development, but without a basement). I will be able to rent out about 220 square meters (2,368 square feet). I won’t be able to charge more than 12 EUR per square meter (about 1.12 USD) though. That amounts to 2,640 EUR per month or 31,680 EUR per year. So a return of just over six percent, of which half remains after taxes. So, three percent. And for that, five different people will constantly be walking through the garden...
Let’s run the numbers again: If the authorities allow me, and I actually can build four small residential units, maybe a fifth apartment in the attic, then this house will probably cost me around 500,000 EUR today (with site development, but without a basement). I will be able to rent out about 220 square meters (2,368 square feet). I won’t be able to charge more than 12 EUR per square meter (about 1.12 USD) though. That amounts to 2,640 EUR per month or 31,680 EUR per year. So a return of just over six percent, of which half remains after taxes. So, three percent. And for that, five different people will constantly be walking through the garden...
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nordanney10 Dec 2019 11:02Pianist schrieb:
Seriously? How do you do that? Existing properties! I focus on solid structures in relatively simple locations. Liquidity before value appreciation. In 10 years, I will have recovered my equity and own a free property.
In the Ruhr area, for example, you can get apartments for around €500 per square meter (about $55 per square foot) with rents of €5–6.5 per square meter (about $0.46–0.60 per square foot).
N
nordanney10 Dec 2019 11:03Pianist schrieb:
So, a return of just over six percent, with half remaining after taxes. So, three percent.You need to build more cost-effectively. But 3-4% after taxes is still very good.N
nordanney10 Dec 2019 11:16Pianist schrieb:
Well, I’m the one who will have to look at this house for the rest of my life. So it really needs to have a very nice facade.Well, you can’t have it all. Also, what’s considered beautiful is subjective and doesn’t have to mean expensive equals beautiful.